Tag: So It Is Written Writing and Editing Services

If you remember your English teacher, no matter how much you loved or hated them, they had very creative ways for teaching their students to remember certain rules. Sometimes, they used rhymes. Other times, we simply saw red marks on our papers so much that it was engrained in us after a while. But the things that worked in school don’t always apply to manuscripts. As you work on your manuscript this month, remember the following tips:

Set your manuscript to a certain font and type size before you start. That way, you know all of the text is the same font. For example, use Times New Roman, 12-point font throughout the manuscript.
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Bold and/or center all chapter headings.

Set your line spacing to one and a half or double spacing before you start. This will increase readability for the editor.
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When quoting bible verses, use quotation marks or italics. You do not need both.
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Do not create a table of contents. This will be created by your typesetter.

If your editor charges by the hour, these simple things will save you time and money. Remember, don’t ever skip the editing process. Your reputation as an author depends on it.

Tenita C. JohnsonIf she’s driving down the street at 70 miles per hour, a spelling error on a highway billboard is sure to jump out at her. Although she may not pull the car over, she may contact the advertiser as a courtesy to let them know, in case they want to fix it of course. What may not matter to most has become an obsession and passion for Tenita Johnson, editor extraordinaire and writer. Through So It Is Written, she is committed to helping authors nationwide perfect their manuscripts and successfully complete the publishing process.

If you’re going to be an author, and be successful at it, you’ll have to hire a professional editor. But before you sign on the dotted line and put down a down payment, there are some things you can do for your own project. Self-editing is the step every author should take after they are done writing and ready to take their hands off the content for the final time.

A few tips to remember in general include the following:

*Print it out and read your complete work out loud.

*Double check the spelling of all proper names for consistency throughout the manuscript.

*Check for little words such as: it, is, of and or. These are common words that are often left out and/or misspelled.

*Be sure to correctly cite bible verses. Limit use of different versions to two or three per manuscript.
Remove all double spaces after periods. Double spaces equals extra money in the publishing industry.

*Write out all numbers under 100.

Self-editing can save the editor time and the author money. If you are truly serious about your craft, don’t skip this ever important step. For more editing tips, visit http://www.soitiswritten.net.

If she’s driving down the street at 70 miles per hour, a spelling error on a highway billboard is sure to jump out at her. Although she may not pull the car over, she may contact the advertiser as a courtesy to let them know, in case they want to fix it of course. What may not matter to most has become an obsession and passion for Tenita Johnson, editor extraordinaire and writer. Through So It Is Written, she is committed to helping authors nationwide perfect their manuscripts and successfully complete the publishing process. Follow her on Twitter @tenitajohnson.